With the subtly evolved second-generation Continental GT coupe now making its way into the garages of newly-signed rappers, inebriated movie stars, and the rest of the moneyed populace, it’s time for Bentley to pop out the first variant on the new model. Spied here stretching its legs on the Nürburgring is the ragtop version of the GT coupe, the Continental GTC.

Expected to be revealed at the end of this year or the beginning of 2012, the convertible will take on most of the styling tweaks that appear on the 2012 GT coupe, including the same updated interior, centered around the new eight-inch touch-screen display. Additionally, while the droptop ultimately will weigh more than its fixed-roof sibling, we expect it will also shed some pounds in this generation; the coupe lost some 140 pounds in its 2012 make over. Still, at more than two and a half tons, the next GTC won’t exactly be svelte.

Under the bonnet, you’ll find the same 6.0-liter W-12 paired again with all-wheel-drive. The 12-cylinder mill produces an extra 15 hp and 37 lb-ft of torque in its latest iteration, totaling 567 hp and 516 lb-ft. But the big news is the expected arrival of a turbocharged, 4.0-liter V-8 installed in a new entry-level GTC with a base price of around $200K. The V-8 will be shared with the next Audi S8, and churn out about 475 hp

Later spin-offs of this spin-off undoubtedly will include a juiced-up GTC Speed and pavement-gobbling Supersports, but we’ll have to wait a few years for those to arrive.